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McCaw: Crusaders will have to be hungry

Sportal.co.nz 21 Jul 2013 Getty Images

Returning All Blacks captain Richie McCaw was delighted to be part of a rampant Crusaders team as they set up an Investec Super Rugby semi-finals berth with a 38-9 win over the Reds in Christchurch on Saturday night but he warned they would need to retain their hunger in the games ahead.

While it was an impressive effort, the key thing in sport was to back up a good performance with another and that would be the task for the side, he said.

McCaw said with a club game last week and a quarter in Saturday's game he would hopefully be better for it. He had been blowing a little toward the end but was thankful for the chance to play.

"I'm just lucky that Todd and Co, and [my] not having been part of the team for most of the year have given me that opportunity so I'm grateful for that and the boys have let me slip in fairly easily, he said.

The side had lifted their game and had dominated at the contact area, especially when not having the ball. They had denied the Reds an opportunity while making the advantage line themselves and the Reds were forced to resort to other measures which gave the Crusaders more chances.

The Crusaders were showing the benefits of having been together, and in these situations before, there was a feeling that they were better equipped for this year's campaign.

McCaw said the excitement associated with playing rugby, something that had never disappeared for him, but it had reminded him of why he played rugby.

"You don't get to play this game forever and you want to make the most of the time you get out there and that becomes pretty evident when you sit and watch for a while," he said.

But as he looked ahead he said there would be four teams determined to claim the championship but it would come down to who was the hungriest. And if the Crusaders prepared as they had in the week before the team they would be capable of matching it.